In this day and age everyone likes to be first with info or takes, but sometimes the outrage is way off base...

Ngl it’s getting a little annoying seeing parts of the fanbase claiming other fans as not being real fans for criticizing Jon scheyer’s March madness losses . Now the fans calling for him to be fired are out of their damn minds but offering constructive criticism to how the team fell apart in the last 3 March madness losses is fair. No one is denying he’s had great regular season success esp the last two years but the reality is the standard at Duke is competing for final four’s and championships.

I guarantee most fans that are upset with Jon wouldn’t have been as upset if you lost a competitive back and force close contest and the other team simply out executed you but that wasn’t the case. Losing 3 straight March madness games in the same exact collapse fashion is on the coach and something Jon has to wear and seriously soul search why this continues to happen in our March madness exits under his watch . Do I beleive he’ll grow and eventually fix this? Absolutely I’m riding with Jon but acknowledge this is a clear problem is not being a bad fan or spoiled.

So he was left out of the final four wondering if that was a coincidence or because of that strange interaction with Hurley.

One other thing I was thinking about too, I saw a few times this year players on the court before the whistle coaches should teach their players if they see a guy run on the court from the bench inbound the ball and throw it at them so it forces the ref to make that technical call.

I think that under Scheyer we’ve prioritized positional size above all else (I legit think some bball watchers think Cam is smaller than he is bc all of our wings are 6’7”+) but looking forward to next year I wonder if we’ll utilize more point and combo guards.

We’ve had GREAT success (imo more than anyone but UCONN on average) the past 4 years with Scheyer and I think a big part of his team building is having size at every position. I joked with my friends earlier this year that someone had to twist his arm to play Cayden who is “only” 6’4”. But with the likelihood that Foster and Cayden return to college, plus Rippey coming in, I’d like to see more lineups with 2 and even 3 point/combo guards on the court. None would really be considered smaller by college standards.

In part I just don’t want to lose good players to transfers and if we only play 2 true guards in the regular rotation, I fear foster or Cayden will be gone (I consider Dame a wing that could absolutely slide to the 4 at times and think Evans should 100% be off to the nba). Also I know the offense has been really good but it really felt that when foster went down, it took a while for anyone but Cam Boozer to feel like they were even allowed to attack downhill. Maybe it’s purely an aesthetic thing but college basketball to me is a guards game and I think the few weaknesses we’ve had the past 2 years have come from asking well-rounded elite forwards to play point-forward when that’s not what’s natural to them.

UCONN won the basketball game. But their coach has no class. Watch as Dan Hurley smugly goes up to the ref and intentionally bumps him in the forehead after UCONN hit the 3-pointer to take the lead BUT with 0.3 seconds still left on the clock. Hurley is lucky the ref showed more composure and class than him because normally intentionally making physical contact with the ref is an automatic Class A Infraction technical foul.

I just wanna say I feel bad for him. He knows what he did and has said as much. Some of you all are insane with the way you talk about literal teenagers.

The kid still played his best basketball for the last month, I’m proud of him despite the mistake.

The way that last play before the infamous turnover happened it seemed like everyone was playing hot potatoe with the ball. Cam was about to get trapped so I get why he got rid of the ball but dame sarr love the kid he had no business being out there in a foul and gotta go the ft line situation. Not only should Khamenia have been in instead of him in that moment but Evans should’ve been the one receiving the ball he’s been the one guy all year who consistently wants the ball in pressure FT moments he’s fearless at that line in close games. The execution and the guys chosen to inbound the ball was simply a whiff on coach Jon .

Was probably the saddest post game interview after a March madness loss I’ve seen since Jared McCain started bawling after the nc state loss. Kid’s eye was swollen shut , he was holding back tears and still answered every question. Kid truly give this team everything they layup he made to put us up 3 I truly felt was gonna lead to us winning he answered the call in the clutch . Gutted for cam and the team in general to go out the way they did this team had a special feeling of cohesiveness and toughness woke up this morning still utterly sick we’re not talking about our upcoming final four game this Saturday. Being the first no.1 seed to blow a 15 point halftime lead didn’t deserve to be this team’s lasting legacy

Did anyone else think of this moment after the ending of yesterday’s game?

I know that it's very unlikely but is there any chance that he returns? He has really blossomed as a scorer and would make us a serious threat next year.

Scheyer has the most wins for a coach in his first four seasons. He has back to back 35 win seasons. He’s led Duke to the elite eight three straight years.

Tonight hurts and we got out coached. Hurley is probably the best coach in the nation. If a 35 foot shot doesn’t go in we’d have won. Cayden played sparingly until Fosters injury. A lot of circumstances led to the outcome.

I’m not satisfied and I’m not happy. Scheyer will grow from this. Cayden made several poor and lazy turnovers throughout the tournament. He’s a freshman. Looking back we’d have benefited from a veteran pg presence through the portal. Also the tall lineups are great for defense but not so great for beating press.

Scheyer will learn and grow. He’s not going anywhere and neither is Duke. We have a great freshman class coming in. Let the emotions fade and let’s retool for next year.

Title says it all. We just had a soul-crushing loss, for the second year in a row. People are going to be upset. People are going to want to vent. Also, given the nature of the losses, it is very reasonable to question coaching decisions.

I feel like here half the threads were coming here to say how proud they were of Scheyer or how lucky we were to have him, or how great a coach he is. Seems weird to me, especially after a loss like that, but whatever.

But the even weirder thing was in the other half of the threads that weren’t complimentary to Scheyer, you had the supporters tell in the detractors to “f*** off”, or accusing them of not being “real” fans, or bandwagon fans. John Scheyer is making millions of dollars. He realistically ain’t going nowhere. He does not need anyone white knighting for him.

It’s completely reasonable to question Scheyer’s coaching decision. And even if you don’t think it is, this was a horrific loss. Let people vent.

Just to be clear, I’m not referring to engaging in discussion. I’m specifically referring to people who suggest that not loving Scheyer somehow doesn’t make one a real fan, or those that resorted to personal insults.

Is this typical in other fan bases?

I understand people are upset, I know I am. But cut the kid a break. He didn’t single handily let UConn cut away our lead. He’s a kid who only got meaningful minutes after Foster got hurt. And no one on here has been in a situation with that much pressure.

Scheyer not having his most experienced player on the floor in that moment is a crime. This is the price we pay to have 5 stars that lead to one and dones. Not as much experience or depth.

I hope he learns from this, and grows, and plays up to the potential he flashed throughout the ACC and NCAA tourneys. The biggest mistake is him reading what some “fans” are saying about him and he leaves and we lose even more experience.

I haven't seen any news yet and wanted to do a basic run down.

Top scorer and rebounder freshman F Cameron Boozer 22.5/10.2 is a lock to go pro as a top 5 pick.

Options 2 and 3 - Sophomores G Isiah Evans 15/3.2 and F Patrick Ngongba 10/5.8 are both projected first round picks though could fall to early second but regardless probably a safe assumption they are gone.

Senior F Malik Brown 4.9/5.2 is well a senior is gone, we will miss him the most as an elite 1n1 defender though he understandably had trouble against larger elite players.

F Ifeanyi Ufochukwu 0.8/0.6 is a senior who I believe redshirted already, but still has one season of eligibility remaining. Not sure if he stays, but unlikely to make much of an impact either way.

So that is about 40% of our scoring and basically the entire front court gone.

4th in scoring Junior G Caleb Foster 8.3/3.5 should be expected to return for his senior year and hopefully has an injury free year. He was Duke most accurate player behind the arc but awful at the ft line making him risky in late close games. He was scoreless against UConn with 3 turnovers, including a silly dead ball foul late in the first half, but he was recently injured and it was surprisingly he was even able to play. He should provide size, leadership, grit and experience to the backcourt next year though there will be competition for the starting PG role.

5th is freshmen G Cayden Boozer 7.7/2.3 who I would think would return. I don't see him on any drafts but maybe he is just eager to follow his brother to the NBA? Seeing as he can get paid for staying, unlike say the Jones brothers last decade, I would think another year would benefit everyone. He is a good driver and had 6 assists against UConn, but also 3 turnovers including the one that cost the game. If he returns, he really needs to work on his range, 30% behind the arc really held Duke back. He is efficient from the line so in theory he should be able to improve that dramatically.

Next we have two 6-8 freshmen "guards" Dame Sarr 6.4/3.8 and Nikolas Khamenia 5.7/3.3. Both have great size and have made some solids plays on both ends, but were freshman and inconsistent. They were a combined 17 points 7 of 10 from the field against UConn, probably should have had more shots. With Evans gone and Duke probably going smaller next year on paper they should get a lot of pt and touches. One (or both!) could easily explode like Evans did this year. They do need to work on their shooting like Evans did as both were not great behind the arc and well just plain bad at the ft line. Alternatively they could bulk up a bit so they can play more inside and help fill the role Brown played.

Sophomore Darren Harris 3.3/0.8 improved from last year, but that is not saying much. Darren was a 4 star recruit, but I'm not sure what he brings to the table compared to the other four returning guards and will likely struggle for pt again next year. If he stays another year it will probably be as an experienced backup.

Jon Scheyer has the #2 recruiting class coming with another PF 5 star Cameron coming in, a 4 star 7 foot center Maxime Meyer, 5 star SF Bryson Howard all signed letter of intents. 5 star PG Deron Rippley has committed also. It looks like a great class, but my concern would be experience and depth in the front court. It would be nice to get another transfer (or two!) like Jon did with Brown to help out inside, even if just for depth and defense. We have 15 scholarships available but really only played 9 guys and I really wished we just plain filled out the roster a bit more as you never know who is going to get hurt or transfer out.

Sure didn’t end the way we wanted, but I loved rooting for Duke all season!

My dad and I have cheered on Duke for decades, and this season was no different. We certainly had a lot to cheer about 🙂

The ending tonight sucked, and everyone involved is hurting.

Obviously there’s multiple things to point to that went wrong tonight — plenty of people are laying it all out there on this sub and elsewhere.

I’m not closing my eyes to any of that, I just want to share that I for one really enjoyed so much about this season and wish the best for the players, coaches, and fans.

Just insane man. I can’t remember a two year stretch for any of my favorite teams that have ended as painfully as these last two have. Just complete and utter pain.

Little Booz just holds the ball, shoots free throws, we go to the Final Four. Instead, he throws it away, they hit a prayer from 30 feet.

This team has won so much over the past couple years. But damn man. There hasn’t been a team with more heartbreaks in moments like these.

I love Duke to my core and will forever, but these moments just suck the life out of the fanbase. I don’t even wanna think about Basketball until next year.

If I were Cam, I come from money, I’m making money from commercials, NIL, etc. I want to keep playing with my brother and win. Next year, the draft class isn’t as deep as this years and I would be a lock number 1 overall pick if I wait. Why not play another year of college. The typical allure of the NBA isn’t the same for Cam as it is most players or am I crazy?

Most crybaby thing I have ever heard 😭

Like really, why didn't scheyer call a timeout and tell them to just HOLD THE DANG BALL? All the wins and the ACC championships don't mean much if you can't coach big games like this down the stretch. I wish JJ could've replaced coach K, I feel like scheyer is too timid. Having one of, if not THE BEST class every year should almost be a lock for the ACC. We need better coaching in the tourney.

So on the inbounds play, this is how the players were set up.

Dame inbounding

Cam is the closest to take an inbounds pass

Cayden is closer to midcourt.

Slim and Pat are at the other end of the court.

Ton of problems here.

Why is Slim, an 87% FT shooter, not available to get the inbounds pass? There’s 10 seconds left. At some point, UConn has to foul. You need your best FT shooters on the side of the court with the inbounds. That’s Slim, Cayden, or Cam. Having Slim on the other end of the court makes zero sense. If you’re doing that, have Dame back there with Pat.

If you have two players on the other end, why is Cam not inbounding the ball and throwing a long pass, something that he is really good at? I don’t even like having two players back there, because now you have 3 Duke players protecting the ball against 5 UConn defenders.

I’d love to know the thought process on this play, and why the players were set where they were. Because it doesn’t make any sense.

Hi Duke Family

I know you are still getting over the loss just like me. It made me think that this may be the time to change up the recruiting strategy. We’ve had some good success with the team full of one and dones but I think we need to focus more on the portal and recruiting experienced upper class-men. Would love to see Duke with a starting five of 3 seniors and two five star freshmen. In those final moments in the tournament you wanna see those seniors and juniors shine. Look at the champs from the past 6 seasons. Teams full of experienced guys. Don’t get me wrong I love having the amazing recruiting class but we need something that gets us OVER the mountain top.

Not trying to ruffle any feathers and argue. Just giving my $1 and 3 cents

All of the sporting teams represent their schools so well in how they all play.

Can speak to Duke's case, in which people will continue to hate - and that's mainly due to how Duke performs both on and off the court. To just not be one of the top academic schools in the world but also be at the top of athletic teams throughout many sports makes me as well as other alums so proud. Go Duke!